The province's Special Investigation's Unit has cleared Wellington County OPP of any wrongdoing in a Wellington North incident last November where a man took his own life.
The OPP report states that on Nov. 27 at around 10 p.m. police were called to a domestic-related incident at a rural address near Kennilworth.
A 47-year-old man had been drinking, armed himself with a hatched and axe and "smashed up the kitchen" before retreating to a bathroom in the basement with a crossbow.
Other family members home at the time had barricaded themselves in a room in the home for safety, they eventually left once police arrived at the end of the driveway. It was a family member that had called police, fearing for their lives.
Police set up a perimeter, called in the Emergency Response Team and canine unit.
Getting no response from the man inside despite several attempts, not being able to locate the person with an infrared camera and after several hours had passed, police entered the home.
"They discovered the locked, basement bathroom door. When they breached the door, the Complainant was found deceased inside the bathroom, having shot himself in the eye with a crossbow. There was never any contact between the OPP and the Complainant until he was found in the bathroom," the SIU report states.
A family member and two police officers were interviewed as part of the SIU investigation in the days following the incident.
"As his body had been discovered by an OPP officer, and OPP officers may have been present outside the exterior of the home at the time of his death, the SIU was notified of the incident and initiated an investigation. The investigation is now concluded. On my assessment of the evidence, there are no reasonable grounds to believe that any OPP officer committed a criminal offence in connection with the Complainant’s death," wrote SIU director Joseph Martino in the report.
